POLICE BOARD TO MEET ON THURSDAY MARCH 23, 2017

TORONTO: The next scheduled meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board will take place on Thursday March 23, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the Auditorium, 40 College Street. Copies of the agenda are available on the Board’s website at www.tpsb.ca, from the Board office and limited copies will be available at the meeting.

The Board meeting may be viewed via LiveStream on YouTube using this link.

Items of interest include:

PRESENTATION – UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF POLICE STOPS
The Board will hear a presentation from Professor Anthony N. Doob and Professor Rosemary Gartner with respect to their report, “Understanding the Impact of Police Stops.” This report was requested by the Board as part of its work on the issue of “street checks,” which are also known as “community contacts” and “Regulated Interactions,” and outlines the relevant social science literature on this subject.

ANNUAL REPORT – USE OF CONDUCTED ENERGY WEAPONS
The Board will consider a report from the Chief with respect to the 2016 Annual Report on Conducted Energy Weapons (C.E.W.s). The report includes information in a number of areas, including incidents of C.E.W. use, the subject’s condition at time of C.E.W. use, the subject’s behaviour and threat level, other force options used prior to C.E.W. use, any injuries and deaths as a result of C.E.W. use, and any civil action as a result of C.E.W. use. In addition, as the report notes, in 2015, Corporate Risk Management began tracking and reporting on the effectiveness of C.E.W. use on emotionally disturbed persons, and a chart with this information is included in this year’s report. As the report states, in 2016, there were six minor injuries and no deaths directly related to C.E.W. use.

ANNUAL REPORT - HATE/BIAS CRIME STATISTICAL REPORT
The Board will consider a report from the Chief on the 2016 Hate/Bias Crime Statistical Report. As the report notes, the Toronto Police Service Intelligence Services - Hate Crime Unit has collected statistics and has been responsible for ensuring full and thorough investigation of hate/bias crime offences since 1993. As detailed in the report, in 2016, there was an 8% increase in the number of total hate/bias crime occurrences reported to the Toronto Police Service compared to the previous year, which could be attributed to a variety of factors. The most prevalent hate/bias occurrences were for the offences of mischief to property, assault and criminal harassment. As the report also notes, the most victimized groups in 2016 were the Jewish community, followed by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, the Black community, and the Muslim community.

RESPONSE TO CITY COUNCIL MOTIONS – ACCESS TO CITY SERVICES FOR UNDOCUMENTED TORONTONIANS
The Board will consider a report from the Chief containing a response to recent City Council Motions pertaining to access to City services for undocumented Torontonians. The report responds to motions adopted by Council at its meetings of December 9 and 19, 2015, four of which were directed to the Toronto Police Service. At this time, Council reaffirmed its commitment that the City of Toronto should provide all Torontonians, including undocumented Torontonians, with access to City services, without proof of citizen status. As the report states, the Service is committed to providing bias-free policing to all members of the community, regardless of immigration status. The report also notes that the Service’s primary mandate is not the enforcement of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (I.R.P.A.) and only takes an interest in violations of the I.R.P.A. when they overlap with the Service’s mission to keep Toronto the best and safest place to be. The report also includes specific additional measures the Service intends to take on this issue and outlines the limits imposed by the law.

REVISED OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST
The Board will consider a report from the Chief with respect to the revised Toronto Police Service operating budget request for 2017. In the report, it is recommended that the Board approve a revised 2017 Toronto Police Service net operating budget of $1,004.5M, which represents a decrease of $0.2M or 0.02% over the 2016 net approved operating budget. This reduction results from an adjustment made by the City’s Budget Committee at its January 24, 2017, meeting which was subsequently approved by City’s Executive Committee and City Council, and is based on the assumption that the Service will receive more grant funding from the province than what was included in its original revenue estimates.